I was fortunate enough to hear Mark speak at my alma mater (Columbus College of Art & Design) back in February 1998.

Just before the lecture started, I bumped into her in the foyer. She asked me where the restroom was, so I pointed her in the right direction.

After the lecture, she signed books and posters for fans.

Being a poor college student, I didn’t have the cash for a book so I had to settle for a free poster. In addition to her signature, she wrote one word: “Thanks!” When I asked what she was thanking me for she replied, “For showing me where the bathroom was.”

That poster still exists in a box back in Milwaukee. It’s now due for a framing.

Still, though I didn’t get my hands on a signed book that day, I was fortunate enough to get a photo with her… holding the ever-famous rubber taco.

Mark was one hell of an artist, but more importantly appeared to be a kind woman. She’ll be missed.

I know it might seem like I sit at home all day long, drinking beer and updating The Blarg, but the truth is I spend much of my day writing.

Lately, most of my writing has been on long-form projects. Because of this, I sometimes write a short (most times comedic, other times not so much) to break up the monotony of those longer projects. But while these shorts are fun to write as an exercise, nobody ever really gets to read them.

To remedy this, I’ve decided to share them here. I’m doing this for two reasons:

1. I like to share! That, and it’s better than having them sit on my computer.

2. It’s my hope that someone might be inspired to actually do something creative with them. Want to film one as a short? Awesome. Interested in animating one? Go for it. Feel like performing one live onstage? I dare you. All I ask is that you give me credit where it’s due, and (if possible) send me a copy of the final product.

The eighteenth of Shady’s Shorts is called “The Compulsive Liars Support Group.”

In that post, I shared a video of DJ Nu-Mark making a guest appearance during the final song of the evening, “Comencemos.”

Jungle Fire released their own video of that very performance, and if you look closely (around the 3:35 mark) you can see yours truly (on the righthand side) filming the footage I posted back in November.